Unveiling the Link Between Low-Dose Cadmium Exposure and Gestational Diabetes Mellitus: Mechanistic Insights from Placental Models

Highlights

• Low-dose cadmium (Cd) exposure in early pregnancy is associated with more than double the risk of developing gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM).
• Cadmium promotes placental syncytiotrophoblast differentiation and alters mitochondrial metabolism, skewing glucose utilization and enhancing insulin-resistance hormone production.
• Mechanistic insights reveal that environmental Cd may drive GDM risk via placental metabolic reprogramming rather than direct maternal glucose dysregulation alone.

Study Background and Disease Burden